A new Smart Information Management System is helping Admaterials Technologies streamline its workflow and processes

1. SPOTLIGHT
dmaterials Technologies is
a construction materials
testing laboratory that
tests concrete cubes to
ensure they comply with engineering
specifications and safety standards.
Since it was launched in 2008, a big
part of the company’s business has
been delivering quick and accurate
test results and reports to its customers
in the construction sector.
However, as its business grew,
Admaterials Technologies’ staff
found it difficult to cope with
DELIVERING SOLID
RESULTS
A new Smart Information Management System is helping
Admaterials Technologies streamline its workflow and processes
increasing customer requests for
test data, and to deliver reports on
time.
“We realised that our staff were
being pushed to the limit as they had
to manually undertake an increasing
number of complex processes to
produce the required data stream –
from keying in information to verifying,
printing and tracking paper orders,”
says Mr Lu Jin Ping (above), the
company’s Managing Director.
“We were developing a backlog and
customer service standards were
being affected. As a result, we decided
to upgrade our data management
processes.”
The company decided to implement
the Smart Information Management
System, a joint project between
SPRING Singapore and the A*STAR
Data Storage Institute.
“The system helps SMEs in the testing,
inspection and calibration (TIC) industry
raise their productivity in terms of data
collection and analyses, and ensure
on-time delivery of high-quality test
reports,” Mr Lu explains.
A
20 JUNE 2015

2. Generating test reports
faster
Implementing the Smart Information
Management System means
Admaterials Technologies has
been able to automate a number of
repetitive and highly complex manual
data management tasks and can now
generate concrete cube test results
and reports more quickly.
“Previously, because our staff had to
manually process test data, the speed
at which we produced test reports was
far slower and often resulted in the late
delivery of reports to our customers,”
says Mr Lu. “Now, test data can be
inputted into the new system as soon as
the concrete cube tests are produced,
reducing our manual processes to a
few simple clicks.”
ItusedtotakeAdmaterialsTechnologies
a week to issue a concrete cube test
report. Now it can now deliver one
within a day.
In addition, customers can view
the concrete cube test reports on
their mobile devices. “A web-based
mobile application linked to the Smart
Information Management System
allows both our staff and customers
to access the system using their
smartphones,” says Mr Lu.
“With this app, our staff can issue
reports and respond to customer
queries immediately and on the go,
thus improving communication with
our customers. Customers can also
use the app to check the status of their
concrete cube test reports.”
Improving productivity
Reducing the time spent performing
manual, paper-driven tasks has brought
about a significant improvement in
terms of productivity and created
more business opportunities for the
company.
With the new system in place,
Admaterials Technologies staff can
focus on more revenue-generating
activities, performing 2,000 concrete
cube tests a day, compared with
only 200 previously, using the same
number of staff.
As a result, concrete cube testing now
makes up almost 20% of Admaterials
Technologies’ total revenue, up from
less than 5%. “Not only have we been
able to do more tests with the same
number of staff, we’ve also been able
to secure more contracts for concrete
cube testing, because our customers
see us as a more reliable, trusted
partner,” Mr Lu reports.
Reducing errors
Concrete cube testing involves
collecting and managing huge volumes
of data, which leaves a margin for
human error.
“There were many cases where our
staff would accidentally hit the wrong
keys while entering important data,
such as the concrete batch number
or test results, into a Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet,” says Mr Lu.
These small but costly mishaps led to
customers receiving inaccurate and
unreliable concrete cube test reports.
“We would then have to redo those tests
and issue new reports, which affects
the speed of a construction project,”
says Mr Lu.
Because the new system automates
data collection and analysis, errors
keytakeaways
¢ Streamlining workflow and processes
can bring about greater productivity and
more business opportunities.
¢ Find out more about the various
capability upgrading initiatives for SMEs
by visiting www.spring.gov.sg and
www.a-star.edu.sg/sme.
are kept to a minimum, or even elimi-
nated. “Fewer mistakes mean fewer
complaints from customers and fewer
phone calls to apologise for those
mistakes,” Mr Lu says.
Mr Lu describes the Smart Information
Management System as “clearly
superior” to the old way of doing
things. “Our customers are now more
confident in the services we provide
because they know our concrete
cube testing service is highly efficient
and to the utmost expectation and
satisfaction.” ¢
Our customers
are now more
confident in the services
we provide because
they know our concrete
cube testing service is
highly efficient and to the
utmost expectation and
satisfaction.
Mr Lu Jin Ping
Managing Director
Admaterials Technologies
JUNE 2015 21